One type of intra-oral device is a mouthguard. Examples of mouthguards are described in the Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,955,393 and 5,082,007. Such mouthguards are fabricated by injection molding in injection molding apparatus, and they can be either consumer products sold through commercial outlets, such as department stores, sporting goods stores, etc., or they can be medical devices available through medical professionals. In some instances, the user of the mouthguard may benefit by having certain modifications made to the manufactured mouthguard so that the mouthguard is thereby customized to the individual.
In one respect, the present invention relates to apparatus and method for customizing a generically produced mouthguard for an individual user. Such method and apparatus involve the use of a manually operated electric heating gun which progressively melts the forward end of a stick of customizing material and is manipulated to apply the melted material to a generic intra-oral device in a desired manner. Where the intra-oral device is a mouthguard made of a material such as ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA), the stick of material is also advantageously EVA. Where the intra-oral device is a different material, such as metal, the use of an EVA stick is still advantageous because it has a certain tenacity for most materials including metals. Because the customized device is to be put to intra-oral usage, the EVA is a pharmaceutical grade of material.
The sticks are themselves novel because of unique arrangements of different zones of material constituting the sticks. For example, one stick may have one zone of one durometer material and another zone of different durometer material. In two disclosed embodiments, the zones may be either concentric or side-by-side as viewed in transverse cross-section through the sticks.
Certain features of the manually operated electric heating gun are also unique. One feature is the provision of multiple barrels for simultaneously feeding multiple sticks through the gun to a common heating chamber and dispensing nozzle. This allows one stick to be of one durometer material and another to be of a different durometer material. Another feature of the gun is a system of interchangeable nozzles which provide different patterns for the melted material being dispensed. The gun and nozzles are also provided with quick-attach and quick-release features.
Certain mouthguards have an integral attaching strap that allows the mouthguard to be attached to a face bar or mask, such as commonly used by participants in certain sports activities, and a further aspect of the present invention relates to a container for such a mouthguard. The container is selectively operable to an open condition allowing the mouthguard body to be disposed in the container. It is also selectively operable to either of two closed conditions depending upon whether or not the attaching strap has also been disposed in the container. If the attaching strap has been allowed to pass outwardly from the container, the container is operable to the first of the two closed conditions. This allows the container to be effectively used while the mouthguard remains attached to a face bar, or mask, by its attaching strap. If on the other hand the attaching strap is unattached and disposed entirely inside the container, the container can then be operated to the second of its two closed conditions, thereby completely enclosing the entirety of the mouthguard including the attaching strap.
Another type of device to which certain principles of the invention relates is an orthodontic device which has an intra-oral portion and an extra-oral portion. This device is commonly referred to as a face bow. While various configurations of face bows are commercially available, a face bow may be generically described as comprising an outer bow and an inner arch. In one type of face bow, the outer bow is a single formed wire and the inner arch is also a single formed wire. The two wires are joined by solder. In other types of face bows, more than two wires are used. They are however still soldered together. Soldering of the face bow wires is usually labor intensive, requiring a significant amount of manual processing.
In one respect, certain principles of the present invention relate to a new and improved means and method for joining face bow wires in a way that produces a better product in a more cost-effective manner. Briefly, these principles comprise joining metal face bow wires through the medium of injection molding suitable material around the wires where they are to be joined. The injection-molded material creates the joining.
The face bow wires are typically bare metal, and a recent effort to improve the cosmetic appearance of at least the extra-oral portion of face bows has involved painting the extra-oral portions of the metal wires. Painting of bare metal requires certain procedures to assure the proper adhesion of the paint, but even at that, experience has shown that the paint tends to separate for any of a number of reasons. This can lead to an unsightly appearance, and dissatisfaction with the face bow appliance.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to the processing of face bow wires in an manner that can provide better performing coloration of face bow wires. Specifically, this aspect involves the extrusion, or co-extrusion, of one, or more, lamina onto the wire that forms the face bow. The provision of extruded, or co-extruded, lamina on the metal wire is believed to provide a coloration that is more resistant to separation than painting. Moreover, it is believed that this coloration can be applied more cost-effectively than painting. It has the further advantage of being fully compatible with the uniting of plural face bow wires by means of the injection molding procedure that was described above.
The foregoing, along with additional features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings illustrate a presently preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at the present time for carrying out the invention.